Protecting intellectual property rights in the EU

Abstract

Intellectual property rights (IPRs) are the rights of creators to derive benefit from their intangible works. By providing certainty to creators that their work can be compensated, IPRs provide an incentive for innovation and technological development. They are also important in protecting products from unauthorised copying: in other words, for preventing counterfeiting.

The EU economy relies heavily on IPRs, and the EU has put a regulatory framework in place to harmonise them across the EU.

We are conducting an audit to assess how effective this EU framework has been in protecting IPRs, and how well it has been enforced. We will look at the work done by the Commission, the European Union Intellectual Property Office, Europol and public authorities in selected Member States (France, Greece, Lithuania, Hungary and Romania).